Returning research findings to Sukuma community participants in Tanzania: an Indigenous standpoint–informed approach

Purpose The practice of returning research findings to participants is increasingly recognised as an ethical and relational obligation in educational research. This study explored the experiences of Indigenous participants from Tanzania's Sukuma community when the findings were returned to them. Design/methodology/approach The study was guided by Indigenous Standpoint Theory and employed qualitative data collection methods, including group discussions, interviews and reflective journal entries. Findings The findings demonstrate that the return of research findings is not merely a neutral act of dissemination but rather a community-based knowledge-making process through which participants engage in culturally grounded dialogue to collectively interpret, negotiate and utilise knowledge. This process transforms participants' roles from passive data contributors to active interpreters of knowledge and potential agents of community change, thereby fostering collective reflection, ownership and action. Practical implications The return of findings positions research outputs as community resources rather than academic artefacts. This functions as a form of knowledge mobilisation that challenges extractive research traditions and rebalances the power relations between researchers and participants. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating the return of findings as a community-based knowledge process in the Indigenous Sukuma context. The study redefines the return of findings as not the final stage of research but as an ongoing, culturally grounded process of participatory knowledge production, where participants collaboratively interpret, contextualise and generate new knowledge.